


A Wolf By The Ears

by orphan_account



Category: Norse Religion & Lore, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Frigga is not an enabler, M/M, No sad Loki Origin, Odin is good for once, they love him very much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24922396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Frigga desperately wishes to free her mother Gerd from a horrible marriage.  Loki takes it upon himself to pay its hefty price.
Relationships: Balder/Idunn, Freyr | Frey/Gerðr | Gerd (Norse Religion & Lore), Frigg | Frigga/Óðinn | Odin (Norse Religion & Lore), Loki/Freyr
Kudos: 2





	A Wolf By The Ears

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sealcat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sealcat/gifts).



> Universe: Mostly Norse myth, Marvel Comics and Movie Universes mashed up.
> 
> Hermod, Tyr, Vidar and Bragi are the “older brothers”: 22, 21, 19, 18 respectively. The first three are already married. Balder and his twin, Hoder, Thor and Loki are the “younger brothers”: 13/13, 11, and 10 respectively.
> 
> Thor's Brothers: Hermod (flees to Helheim to get Balder back), Tyr (Cisa), Vidar (Solveig), Bragi (Idunn), Loki (Sigyn - they don't get married until later; they are only friends in this version), Balder (Nanna)/Hoder (Nanna after Balder dies)
> 
> Thor (Sif - mistress and Jarnsaxa - wife --> roles reversed)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I took so long, Sealcat! :D

1.

A soft, sudden light lined the horizon, casting out tendrils of blue that bled out across the inky night sky. Sol and her chariot burst forth with a great shout; she drove her horses hard - clouds thick fug streaming from their flaring nostrils - as they hauled their fiery burden into the sky. 

Mani, keeper of the moon, guardian of the night, herded her wolf pack into the rapidly fading, star-strewn void. She gave a lazy wave and a lion’s sized yawn as her chariot neared. Sol gave a howl - teasing, genuine. Mani snorted. She stooped down, snatching up a cub snapping at her skirts, and together, they slipped into the dwindling darkness just as the sun made its debut.

Morning had finally come. 

Asgard began to stir. 

The Palace woke first - its chimneys belched out great columns of white smoke. More smoke trickled upwards from the homes and the shops just outside of the gilded walls all the way down to the rust-covered shanties lining the bay. 

People spilled out into their doorways, rubbing their eyes against the glare of the new morning sun before trundling back inside for a much needed breakfast. The scratching of dry straw sweeping; the fishmongers’ boastful bellowing; cast iron pots and pans clattering - a diurnal symphony. 

In the palace kitchens, a young woman with her forearms smattered with flour, expertly plucked and plopped bread rolls from a hot tin into a basket resting on the windowsill. The kitchen was a whorl behind her: servants and cooks spinning and dodging around one another in a chaotic dance.

“Greta! Greta!” A shout erupted from the behind the servant girl, just as she freed a particularly stubborn roll from the tin. “Hurry up with that and help Bertha with the cream filling for the cake!" 

“Yes, ma’am! Right away, ma’am!” She shouted back. Greta paused and blinked at the empty space now occupying her tongs. She shook her head. The stress of today was play games with her mind. Greta shook her head - thoughts scattering like windblown leaves - and retreated back into the fray. But no sooner had she left, a hand - browned by the sun and the soil - felt its grubby way along the stone ledge until it found its prize and beneath the ledge once more.

Thor sank his teeth into the warm bread, greedily devouring it whole in two bites as he ran back to the garden walls. His half-brother Hoder crouched low behind some nearby by shrubs, stirring only when he drew near.

“Thor,” Hoder fussed, rolling his sightless eyes at Thor slipped in beside him. He continued to chew enthusiastically, loudly. “We are supposed to keep watch.”

“I watch,” Thor teased around round a mouthful of bread. “You listen.” HIs companion snorted and turned his ear in the direction of Idunn's coveted orchard. 

“Balder and Loki have made it inside,” he mumbled. “Idunn still slumbers. So, does Bragi. Both snore like a drunken Nidhogg. I don’t think either of them will wake for some time.” 

Thor chuckled and wiped his fingers on the side of his pants as he climbed onto his feet.

“Well, crow three times, if they do,” he said. “I am off.”

Thor pulled himself up and over the stone wall, perching on its top. He surveyed the grounds, eyes peering over the vast, leafy canopy before dropping down onto the ground below. He wove through the trees, careful to stay hidden while having a clear line of sight at the orchard’s path. He glanced over his shoulder at the gates behind him.

“Do you have them?” Thor asked them, his eyes darting from his brothers to the orchard gate. 

“We would,” Balder groused. “If our Loki did not weigh as much as Auðhumbl…”

“Maybe, dear brother,” Loki snapped, kicking dirt onto his brother’s boots. “...you’d be able to lift us both if you’d attend your sword training instead of chasing after Nanna!” The eldest made a grab for him but Loki ducked out of reach.

“We have no time for this!” Thor barked. “Hurry or we’ll be caught! I will head back to the gate to keep watch. Stop fighting and get the apples...” Loki and Balder cast him sour looks as he turned and vanished back into the trees. 

“You’re louder than Garm’s snoring…!” Loki hissed. 

“Shut up, the two of you and let us do this and be done with it,” Balder grumbled as he knelt down into the soggy earth. He growled as Loki scrambled onto his back and the toe of his brother’s boot caught him in the ribs.

“You’re the ass...” Loki replied, climbing onto his brother’s broad shoulders. “Now up, you dull beast.” Balder growled as he was met with several sharp raps on his crown. He rose, wobbling under the weight of his brotherly burden and stretched high on the balls of his feet toward the low hanging branch.

"Almost," he heard Loki whisper. “Just a bit higher…” Balder’s foot slipped in the morning-dew as Loki clambered upward, planting his foot firmly on his older brother’s shoulders. 

“Be careful!” Loki hissed down at him as his brother swayed wildly. “Don’t drop me! Why can you not do one simple thing?!” 

"Well, if someone would not devour entire troughs of lapskaus," the eldest chided. He shifted his stance, helping his little brother to stand on his shoulders.

Loki reached out, his fingertips brushing against the full curve of the coveted golden apple. 

“Just an inch more…” he muttered.

“Perhaps you should call on you jötunn blood...” Balder sneered. “Or use one of your tricks to-ACK!” Loki launched himself off from his back, causing his brother to fall face first onto the muddy ground. Balder groaned, pain racing along his neck and shoulders. He rolled onto his back before pulling himself upright.

“Mother Frigga will have my head,” he mumbled, wiping uselessly at the mud caked on the front of his tunic. He looked up and found Loki smirking down at him. He held one of Idunn’s apples in his free hand, the other clutching the branch as he swung from it.

“Victory...” Loki declared, his sly smile reflecting on the apple’s gilded skin. “Catch.” He tossed it down at Balder caught it and shoved it into a small satchel on his belt. Loki threw several more apples before leaping from his shoulders. “Awesome, are they not?”

“Yes,” his brother muttered in return, rubbing his neck. “At the expense of my life.” 

“Only that?” Loki sniped, swinging the satchel over his shoulder. “Come. You can complain as much as you like back in our rooms…” 

As they turned to leave, Idunn emerged from the trees with her long fingers threaded in Thor’s hair and her arm yoked around Hoder’s neck. Her bright eyes were wild, wide as her mouth formed into a feral sneer. Her nightgown and her bare feet dark were with mud.

“You rotten bilge snipes!" she roared. “You dare steal from **me**?!” 

“Brothers, help!” Hoder croaked pitifully, his stubby hands pawing uselessly as Idunn’s arm. 

“She snuck up on me!” Thor hissed. “Help!”

Loki and Balder gave their brothers a rueful look before taking off in a wild sprint. They blustered past the woman, her shrieks echoing at their backs.

“Loki!” Balder cried breathlessly, his face redl. “You’re faster! Get back to the rooms and hide!”

Loki nodded, clutching the satchel tightly against his front. As they rounded the corner toward the orchard gates, something caught them by the collar. The boys yelped, tripping over their fumbling feet. They fell to the ground in a tangled heap and soon found Queen Frigga, Tyr, and Bragi glaring down at them. Tyr lunged forward, catching both boys by their ears and hauled them upright as Idunn lumbered up the orchard path with her own captives in tow.

“Boys,” Bragi said, his tone severe, measured. “What mischief have you managed _now_?”

“They stole my apples!” Idunn shrieked, stamping her muddied foot in the dew covered grass.

"My dearest, most revered daughter," Frigga soothed. "I beseech you to find it in your most noble heart to forgive these fool children. Please, my sweet Idunn…”

The younger goddess snorted, her nostril flaring like a bull. She tossed Thor and Hodor at Frigga. The boys ducked behind their mother’s skirts. 

"Those apple belong to everyone, my Queen!" she protested, her voice thick with ire. Tears formed in the corners of her bright eyes as her hands twisted in the folds of her muddy nightgown. “My orchards are so delicate and on all the days for them to-” 

"I know, I know, my dear," Frigga said sweetly. She stepped forward to brush a few strands from Idunn’s brow. "Calm yourself. Tyr and I will deal with them." 

"Mother is right, my love," Bragi spoke gently, as he crossed over and took Idunn’s hand. “Let them handle my brothers. We need our rest for tonight.” 

She nodded, wiping her eyes on her wrist. Bragi wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders, and guided her back to their rooms. When they had passed through the orchard gates, Tyr cackled. Frigga looked sharply at him, her mouth drawn thin and tight. 

“You know better than to wander in here, let alone pick her damned apples!” Tyr laughed, slapping his meaty thigh. “She would have slaughtered you like hogs!” 

"Or make us bald like Brother Vidar...” Thor muttered as he blinked back the tears of pain in his eyes. He rubbed his sore scalp.

"Still, that would be less than you four deserve!" Frigga shot back. "Honestly, you all know how important Idunn's orchard is to Asgard! It is our duty to protect it, not pillage it!" She paused, holding out an elegant hand. “Give them to me.”

Loki sighed and stepped forward. He held out the satchel for her to take. 

"Off with you!" their mother barked, their lot secure in her fist. She gave Loki a swat on his rump. “Prepare them for the day, Tyr!”

He marched them straight to the royal baths. 

"Give them a good scrubbing,” he said to an attendant, who had already descended upon the children, pulling off their dirtied clothes and tossing them in a heap. “They were just routing about the grounds like wild boar. And do be thorough when washing little Thor's tresses..."

Loki cast a dour look at Tyr’s retreating form as a servant upended a bucket of water over his head.

~~~

The palace servants worked their magic as the Great Hall’s signs of nightly debauchery had been scrubbed clean. Ribbons of cream, crimsons, and gold hung from the rafters; great lengths of blue silk cloth lined the tables; grand bouquets of flowers floating like clouds in the air.

The entire kingdom filled the streets pooled into the streets like the rushing waters of Ífingr. The common folk feasted at long wooden tables lining the freshly polished cobblestone along the main thoroughfare. They were decorated with small lights and flower chains strung overhead - each one full of pastries, roasted meat and frothy mead. They danced and cheered and laughed and fought all along the roadways. 

All of Odinsons and the Queen-Consort sat flanking him. The elder brothers and their (future) wives - Hermod, Vidar, Tyr, and Bragi - sat to their Father’s left, having reached their majority long ago. Frigga sat to his left, followed by the younger brothers - Balder and his twin - Hoder, Thor, and Loki. 

And last but not least, was their Grandfather, Freyr. He was a large man with broad shoulders and ropey arms like World Serpent. His golden whiskers sprouted from his face like a lion’s mane and his eyes just as wild. Loki wrinkled his nose. He was not particularly fond of his grandfather since he smelled of angelikarot and he spoke as though everyone around him were hard-of-hearing. He also hugged way too hard for his liking, unlike their Grandmother...

Loki frowned. The seat beside Freyr sat unoccupied. 

“Where is Grandmother Gerd?” he whispered into Hoder’s ear. 

“Ill,” he replied, feeling for his glass before wrapping his hands around it. “Mother said she would come to visit next cycle. I hope she brings me more clay...”

Loki huffed, turning his attention back to Odin shouting down at the crowds. He droned on about marriage as a sacred union. It meant everything to Asgard and its people - a testament of devotion to family and duty and love and honor. After what felt like three eons, his father pronounced Bragi and Idunn wed. 

The crowd erupted into cheers. Attendants flooded the walkway, carting out dishes Loki had only read of in his storybooks. His eyes grew wide as one slid a fragrant meat pie in front of him. Thor pounced on him immediately, causing his Baldr to snicker. He tucked in, taking careful bites as Frigga cast him and his brothers a weary look. 

"I hope our union will be as fruitful and as enduring as yours, Grandfather!" Loki heard Bragi shout over the din. 

“That is my hope as well, my darlings!” he heard Freyr exclaim cheerfully, flecks of meade in his thick mustache. He pulled Frigga into a side arm hug and placed a rather wet sounding kiss against her temple. “I hope it lasts as long as mine own and even longer than that of my beautiful daughter’s!”

“F-father-!”

Freyr let out a laugh like a Garm’s howl.

Loki winced and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Have mine,” he muttered, shoving his plate in front of Thor. “My head hurts from all the shouting.”

“Are you alright?” Hoder asked. Loki felt his hand on his shoulder. 

“I have simply reached my limit, is all.”

“Rest well then…”

Loki slipped away into the palace. He followed the sound of her skirts and soon found it was leading him to the main hall. Loki slowed his pace, taking to the balls of his feet as he quietly stalked after her. 

But Frigga sped past their sleeping quarters. 

"...a fews days' time-" Loki pressed himself against the wall, the cold from the stones seeping through his tunic. He inched his way toward the whispers, finding long shadows huddled together at the end of the hall. Carefully, he peaked around the corner. 

His mother Frigga was speaking with Gná, the chief messenger of her court. She was a tall, broad-shouldered Valkyrie with thick, curly hair like a lamb’s wool. Her face set with an iron-clad determination, Loki and his brothers swore they would never see her smile in their own lifetime.

“Hoof-Tosser awaits, my lady,” Gná spoke softly. “The moment you give the word and we shall fly.”

“Then, do so,” Frigga replied. “I have sent Eir ahead of you when my father told me she fell ill a week ago. At this hour, they should be at the safe house now...” 

Gná gave Frigga a slight bow before slipping through the window. 

Loki barely swung himself away from the door as his mother bust through it.

“Loki, what are you doing here and not at the party?” 

She spoke sweetly, her voice containing none of the vitriol she had early in the orchard.

“Um...” he started weakly. “I wished to use the lavatory but someone had been sick in it.” Frigga grimaced. She bought his lie. Loki felt the knot in his chest loosen. 

“Come, I shall take you and, then we must get back,” cooed Frigga, clasping gently him by the hand. “Or All-Father will fear we’ve been taken by the Nidhöggr.” Loki walked quickly to keep up with her stride as she led them back to the fete. 

Frigga returned him to his seat before rejoining Odin at his side. Loki stared at his plate - long gone cold and equally unappetizing - as his mind hummed.

But his thoughts did not travel far when a polite cough startled him from his reverie.

"Ho, little brothers," Bragi greeted them with a dazzling smile. Idunn stood beside him, her sneering mouth twisted into a hasty smile as her betrothed regarded her. "We would like to thank you all for taking a break from your daily mischief to celebrate with us!"

Idunn and the boys stared each other down. She glowered at them. Bragi gently nudged her side. The corners of her vermilion lips twitched as she politely offered them an apple tart. Gingerly, the boys reached up and took one each. Smiles pulled on their lips after the first bite, sweetness filled their crumb-caked mouths.

"Thank you, Sister Idunn," Thor muttered, wiping lips onto his sleeve.

“We are sorry,” Loki added. 

Frigga chuckled and patted Thor affectionately.


End file.
